If there’s anything people love to do in December, it’s splashing cash to buy gifts for loved ones. As a businessperson, there’s no better time to creep in and launch standout marketing campaigns to build your sales funnel.

But as you’ve experienced countless times before, it’s no easy feat to attract prospects with customer service overflow.

As you enter the busiest month of the year, ensure your customer support team is geared up and ready. Remember, only companies that can automate client communication and sales win big during the holiday rush.

So, what is the best promotional strategy for the Christmas season? Explore these proven 10+ holiday business automation tactics to help you thrive through the merry rush.

What Happens to Your Customer Service in December?

There’s something in the air come December—no, it’s not the cinnamon and the pine. It’s the heavy foot traffic in your storefront, as consumer spending takes flight like never before.

But as the shopping frenzy ensues, the pressure on your customer support squad will be at its highest.

During the holiday, retail sales reach new heights, driven by stronger spending and promotions.

But it’s not just sales volume that’s transforming; consumer behavior is shifting too, as shoppers plan for their gift list early.

So, how does marketing play a major role during the holiday season?

People are buying on impulse and trying to avoid long queue lines in physical stores. Many are opting for home delivery and riding the holiday buzz of online deals.

Customer service becomes increasingly critical as would-be buyers demand personalized promotions and a smooth buying journey. This urges you to put value on marketing and exceptional customer service to meet these rising expectations.

That said, it’s pivotal that your support team is equipped to meet the sleigh-ride speed bumps ahead.

How to Win More Clients with Holiday Business Automation

The holiday season will run your time dry. That’s why you need the holiday business automation to avoid getting lost in the chaos.

With the right prep work, you can master the stress and keep operations running like clockwork.

Client Communication Automation

Delays are inevitable during the holiday due to increased traffic and workforce gaps. The key to overcoming these challenges is not to panic and ensure transparency.

Around 94% of your consumers expect transparency, even considering it a major factor for brand loyalty. Therefore, make sure every inquiry you receive is nurtured efficiently. How are you going to do that?

By simply automating your communication channels, you can scale client interactions and save a significant amount of time.

Here’s how you can achieve such a feat:

• Email Campaigns. Email initiatives remain an effective method to get through to your clients. However, managing your email campaigns can be challenging amid the seasonal surge. That’s where Christmas business automation comes into the picture.

  Email automation is great for scheduling festive newsletters and delivering exclusive offers in advance for highly personalized messaging. This improves engagement, which then increases conversion rates.

• Chatbots & Auto-Attendants. One of the fastest ways to meet your high-volume inquiries is to integrate AI-powered tools. Chatbots and auto-attendants are particularly essential during the holidays, as they can provide 24/7 availability when customer requests are at their peak.

  These bots can handle quick interactions and enhance overall service efficiency, making them a good addition for busy seasons. You can deploy AI chatbots for round-the-clock support to track orders and automatically send phone messages. They give you the power to attract leads even when your on-site staff are away.

• Social Media. It’s easy to ignore your social media strategy in the thick of the holiday whirlwind. But you’re missing an opportunity here—Christmas is the best time to connect with old customers and find new ones. So, take the time to plan and automate your social media.

  Use tools like Meta Suite and Hootsuite to schedule festive promotions and content to remain on your audience's radar. These social media management systems can save you time and help you focus on pressing matters even when you’re busy.

• Website Updates. Your website can build your brand’s reputation through viral marketing. One way to do that is to set up newsletter pop-ups. You can automate pop-ups for newsletter sign-ups with discounts or stock notifications to capture leads and encourage them to take action.

  Website pop-ups create a sense of urgency, and setting up a creative automation ensures your festive campaigns will be responsive and timely.

Sales Automation & Strategy

So, how can we increase sales in the festive season? By automating the critical stages of your sales processes.

• Segmented Offers. Yes, your audience can be segmented. You can create multi-phase campaigns, from Black Friday to Christmas, with time-sensitive discounts and bundles. This way, you’re sending the right campaigns to the right people, wasting no time promoting to the wrong crowd.

  Marketing automation segmentation is crucial if you aim to deliver personalized emails to consumers who are missing out on the latest hot sales. However, a holiday business automation strategy isn’t only good at reminding patrons of special offers, but also at welcoming new subscribers.

• Email/SMS Power. Email and SMS campaigns are strong during Christmas. In fact, almost all SMS messages are read, with 90% opened in the first 3 seconds. This just shows that it’s a smart strategy to reach your target market and make your holiday case.

  Nevertheless, these marketing efforts need to be carefully orchestrated to create authentic sales pitches and engagement that resonates with your audience. Use marketing automation and leverage high open rates of SMS and email based on your customers’ location for direct outreach and engagement.

• Content Marketing. Holiday-themed content positions your brand at the forefront of your audience’s minds at the perfect moment. Automate sharing seasonal content, with gift guides and shopping tips to keep your brand relevant and drive engagement. Plan your SEO-friendly posts and share them during busy periods too.

  Holiday-focused SEO content ensures your page shows up for searches that peak during high-traffic seasons.

• Post-Holiday Engagement. Post-festive follow-ups are actually a good way to spark excitement for the coming year. Thus, you should invest in post-holiday marketing to expand your current clientele and retain the existing ones.

  Plan follow-up emails with surveys and welcome customers from the Christmas bash with fantastic offers to maintain and strengthen client connections.

• Lead Capture. When your prospects search for services during Christmas, they’re super eager to buy. Take advantage of the situation and use exit intent pop-ups and “back-in-stock” email alerts to convert casual scrollers into subscribers.

  Exit-intent pop-ups are one of the fastest strategies to stop visitors from bouncing and prompt them into action. You can build your email lists and avoid abandoned carts with an automated giveaway entry and quick reminders.

  Back-in-stock notification emails are also a good tactic to turn frustrations into conversions. This strategy captures high-intent buyers and nurtures loyal customers most straightforwardly.

Holiday Business Automation: Key Tools & Planning

How can you impress clients if you don’t know what your priorities are? Holiday business automation requires getting down into the details in advance to ensure customer interactions and efficient seasonal promotions.

Lucky you, we have come up with the checklist to adjust your strategies and delight your clients this Christmas.

Marketing Platforms

Holiday shopping brings a scary tidal wave of messages across communication lines, from social media and live chat to emails.

Tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot for email, Hootsuite and Buffer for social, and Intercom, Drift for chatbots, allow you to manage customer engagement all in one place. You can use a unified platform and deliver consistent responses to your clients. This streamlines communication, resulting in quick information flow and stronger customer relationships.

Early Planning

So, what sells best during the Christmas season? You’ll know if you did your homework.

There’s nothing worse than disappointing your customers. Give them exactly what they want by setting things in motion months before. This way, you can build your content and all your brand-boosting efforts smoothly without the December headaches.

Busy holiday periods are “crunch time” for your brand, but a prime moment to win your clients.

Don’t let nature take its course—get ready for the unexpected. Create a plan in case things don’t go your way, from your website crashing to your deliveries getting delayed.

You can perform stock analysis to anticipate the stocks you’ll need. Or you can develop a management plan to safeguard your business from holiday-related risks.

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help During the Holidays

Juggling your professional commitments and personal ventures is a strain. Joyfully, in the face of holiday hurdles, there is a virtual assistant.

Many businesses seeking a cost-effective and flexible way to alleviate their massive workload turn to this creative staffing solution.

Hiring a reliable virtual professional is a smart way to help you relax and stay productive. They can perform a wide range of tasks, from scheduling holiday marketing campaigns to setting up out-of-office responses. These remote sidekicks are all-rounders who free up your time to concentrate on core functions and enjoy the merry season without getting overwhelmed.

Here are different Christmas tasks a VA can take over to streamline your business operation:

• Schedule appointments
• Manage emails
• Conduct research
• Handle correspondence
• Coordinate meetings
• Track budgets
• Manage deadlines
• Conduct risk management
• Maintain a detailed database
• Collaborate with your in-house sales team to create marketing campaigns

Hack the Holiday with Automation Strategies and a Virtual Assistant

To automate client communication and sales in this hectic time, you need the strategies we just mentioned. Prepare carefully and early to make this holiday season more than just doable but truly victorious!

You’ve got the tools and tricks—you only need a virtual assistant to steer the wheel.

At VAV, we provide premium virtual assistants who can efficiently tackle your escalating workload. With our continuous support, you can ensure smooth collaboration and top-notch results every time, with any project or task.

If you’re ready to bear-hug this transformation, contact our experts at VAV and sign up for a free consultation today!